


Of Fathers and Sons

by christian_hayes



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Medieval AU, also i’ll ship analogical until the day i die, but like with magic, but now with magic, dad emile, dad remy, i will hopefully eventually comission someone with actual talent to draw a map of this country, kind of a grey zone, let’s not let the trash man fuck, logan patton and roman are brothers, look i relate to virgil and i just want aman to make me feel stupid, roman and remus might not be brothers in this au but that does not mean you can ship them, so are virgil dee and remus, sorry i had so make emile bisexual i apologize for that, sorta - Freeform, these tags got off track real quick, uhhh remy is evil, warning for remus being remus, yes there’s implied remile let me live
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-07-30 11:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20096173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christian_hayes/pseuds/christian_hayes
Summary: When the king passes away, it’s up to his sons to protect the kingdom from unexpected threats.





	1. Parenthood

**Author's Note:**

> warning for:  
a criminal dying  
unwanted pregnancy  
character death (but it’s fine)
> 
> not beta’d

Once upon a time there lived an old king who ruled his kingdom with a benevolent grasp. He was kind to all his citizens and made sure to always avoid the threat of war. His servants were loyal and happy and he had all the women he could dream of. There was only one issue: he had no children.

There were no screams of excitement echoing through the halls. No small feet hitting the wooden floors. No mischievous smiles and giggles. His castles were full of people, but they felt too empty.

When the king was old, he got desperate. He couldn't have children, he knew that now, but maybe the rumors were true. Maybe the witch who lived in the forest could solve his problems. He asked a servant to fetch the witch, but she returned alone.

"He says you have to visit him yourself. He refused to tell me anything else. I am sorry, my King."

The king assured her that it was okay.

The next year, he sent another servant. But this one also returned alone.

"He says you have to visit him yourself and that his name is Remy. That's all he said. I'm sorry I failed you." The servant spoke.

The king assured him he did everything he could before retreating to his library. Remy. That's the witch he was dealing with.

The year after that, the king sent another servant, this time with the gift of a golden ring that had belonged to the king's mother. The servant, however, returned alone.

"He says he appreciates the gift, and that he wants you to visit him yourself. I'm sorry."

The king assured it was fine and ordered someone to get him his cloak and horse, but to leave his sword where it was.

The king left, putting the three servants who'd been so faithful to him in charge until he got back. The road wasn't without dangers but after a full day of riding, he finally reached the forest Remy resided within. The king walked in, whispering Remy's name occasionally. It felt disrespectful to shout in a forest this heavy with a sleepy silence. Eventually, his search paid off as he spotted a small stone hut deep in the forest. The chimney was smoking and the king could vaguely hear talking.

He went to knock on the door but it swung open before he could. The witch stared at him for a bit before stepping aside and letting him enter, closing the door behind him.

"You're the one that's been trying to kidnap me?" The witch asked, sitting down at the small table in the corner and motioning for the king to do the same.

"I suppose I am, but I assure you it is only to ask you for something." The king told him. Remy leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow.

"And what might you need?"

"I can't have children. No matter how I try, no woman can get pregnant because of me."

"You want me to magic you an heir?"

"I suppose, yes." The king said, now also leaning back.

The witch seemed to think on this for a bit before seemingly making a decision.

"I can help you out, but I don't do favors. It will cost you."

"I'd give anything."

The witch got up and walked to the kitchen area, pulling various herbs out of cabinets and mixing specific amounts together while mumbling to himself. "I need some of your blood." He told the king, motioning for him to join the witch in the kitchen. The king used his dagger to make a small cut on his upper arm and the witch collected it in a bowl.

When the witch was done brewing and the king was done tending to his wound, the two parted.

"Smear it on the stomach of a woman and she will bear your child. But remember, she will not survive the process, and the children will forever be cursed. The way in which they will be is uncertain but it won't be pretty." The witch reminded the king before he left to go back home.

Nine months later, a woman who had tried to kill her family gave birth to three baby boys in the kingdom's prison before dying of complications. The king took care of the boys as well as he could but he was old and would leave this world sooner than he'd wanted to.

His three sons, who he all loved equally, were only sixteen when he ended up on his deathbed. He called them forward one by one and, since nobody knew who had been born first or last, told them they would rule the kingdom together as he had. With kindness, bravery, and intellect.

His strongest son, Roman, would be in charge of keeping the peace in a more aggressive way and keeping the people entertained. He would live in the king's winter palace, situated in between the two biggest cities in the kingdom.

His smartest son, Logan, would be in charge of keeping the country's economy stable. He would live in the summer palace, situated near the harbor and housing the largest library in the surrounding kingdoms.

His last son, Patton, was to take care of the people. To give to them and never take more than necessary. He was to rule. The main castle was given to him.

While the king was raising his children, the witch Remy (who was known by locals as Whiskers) had grown old as well. Of course, he was quite a bit older than the king, but in the end he was mortal, and his time was running out. So, Remy decided to craft three children who could follow in his footsteps. The first one he created was called Virgil. He was modeled after the anxieties of the townsfolk, created to haunt them. The second child was called Dee and was created in the image of human deceit. The third and final child was called Remus, and he represented the thoughts humankind kept hidden deep inside.

Remy raised them well, teaching them everything he knew and showing them how to control their powers. The three children of Remy soon learned of the king and his children and grew fascinated with them to the point where it was all that was on their minds, and Remy realized what the king's curse was. The king's sons had adversaries. Creatures that were the total opposite of them. And unfortunately, it would cost Remy his children.

Virgil left the house more and more to visit the logical one, Logan. He got into plenty of fights about it with Remy until the day came that he didn't return.

Dee started hanging around the kind one, Patton, and no matter what Remy did, nothing could keep him from the prince. Dee followed in his brother's footsteps and didn't come back.

Remus was the last one to leave. He didn't want to leave his father, not when he could teach him so many more delicious ways to hurt people, but something about Roman intrigued him too much. Remus resisted the call until he left. No build up of occasionally leaving, nothing. But one day Remy woke up and he was alone again.

So, Remy died as he lived. On his own and in pain, regretting everything he had and hadn't done.


	2. A Raven and a Writing Desk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter warning for:  
-Deceit  
-Remus  
-Dark!Virgil (ish)

Logan read through his letter to Patton again, double-checking the numbers as he went. When he was sure everything was in order, he sealed it away in an envelope and walked to the birdcage in the corner of the writing room, where his raven was waiting for Logan to give him orders. Logan carefully picked up the bird and tied the letter to its left leg before moving to the nearest window and letting the bird fly free. Logan's raven always knew where to go and would always get there sooner than any pigeon could. No matter the weather or the distance, the raven would fly it in record time. Logan expected the bird to return within three days with Patton's letter. Then again, it might be longer. Patton loved to dote on the bird, which stayed for longer than he should in order to enjoy all the treats Patton gave to him.

Logan closed the window and started putting away his writing things, placing everything back exactly where it was supposed to go. He hated messes and always made sure that his castle was neat and tidy. Same went for every other aspect of his life. The administration for the docks was flawless, his tracking of the economy was spotless, his library was ordered alphabetically and by subject, author and date of publication. His hair was always the same, his clothes were the cleanest you'd ever see, and even his servants looked cleaner than the others'. Everything in Logan's world had to be immaculate. That might be why he didn't get along with his brothers that well.

Roman was loud and chaotic at times. He was way too outspoken and didn't care that it was incredibly dangerous to just leave a sword lying about.  
Patton was too bubbly and all over the place. He had a tendency to start a project and then abandon it halfway through, never cleaning up.  
Thinking about it, the creature he probably got along with the most, was his raven.

He exited the library and started his trek up the stairs to his bedroom, all the way up in the eastern tower. He silently thanked god that he'd gotten the smallest castle when their father had divided the land amongst them. The summer palace didn’t need to be as grand as the others since it was mainly used as a place of rest for the royal family, after their long summer days spent at the beach. It lay on top of the cliffs looking out over the inland sea of the kingdom, only with some strong binoculars could you see the islands that closed off this particular section of the ocean, creating a bay of sorts where the ships and birds alike could take a rest from their fight with the ocean. The waves still battered against the bottom of the cliffs, though, clearly audible from the castle. Sparrows liked nesting under the roof of the building, and Patton would come to visit every spring, just so he could see the babies. Logan didn’t care for the birds much, but he still loved the castle with every fibre of his being. He loved sitting next to the window on a rainy spring day, reading a book from the library.

Oh, the library. It was the most impressive known to their kingdom and nearby ones, occupying almost half of the castle. Every book had its own place, sorted by subject and author, and one could roam the library halls for weeks and not see the same spot twice. Logan was fairly certain it was impossible for even him to read every book in the library within his lifetime.

Before going to bed, Logan liked finishing his climb up the stairs and surpassing his bedroom in favour of the top of the tower where the ocean winds blew through his hair and the boat lights twinkled in the distance. On a clear night he could see the islands in the distance with his bare eyes. It was calm on top of the tower, and nobody dared disturb him up there. Sometimes he’d be up there all night, just thinking.

Virgil also liked the height. He loved soaring over the castle and just landing on top of a tower, standing there for hours on end as he looked over the land that was promised to him by his father. He also liked sitting next to Logan all night long until the king fell asleep, and even after that. It was just peaceful up there; it gave him a moment to not think about his brothers or father. He could just be himself for a while. Well, sort of. Logan couldn’t know he wasn’t a bird, that would mean the end of everything for Virgil.

Of course, there were things he wouldn’t miss if Logan found out, like delivering letters. After having flown the same two routes over and over again, Virgil was slowly getting sick of the same scenery, not to mention the hell that was reaching Roman’s castle, situated in the mountains. Virgil still gave it his all as he flew east to Patton’s, hoping to create some time for himself to visit the house he grew up in.

The raven landed in front of the old cabin and calmly hopped through the magical barrier, changing back to his human form as he did so. He heard voices inside and assumed it was his brothers waiting on him. Dee was probably sat at the table eating a mouse just to fuck with Remus, who was undoubtedly hanging from the ceiling and doing or saying something that shouldn’t be repeated by anyone. Ever. Virgil pushed the door open and sat down opposite Dee, laying the letter Logan had given him on the table. Remus immediately tried reaching it, but Virgil swatted away his hand. “That’s for Patton, Re, no touching things that aren’t yours.”   
“Not even with consent?”  
Virgil rolled his eyes to Dee as he plucked some leftover feathers from his arm before taking a closer look at Dee’s face and frowning at the amount of scales that now adorned it.   
“How long?” He asked, looking his brother in his eyes.  
“Two weeks.” Dee answered, avoiding Virgil’s eyes.  
“Dee.”  
“A month and a half, okay. A month and a half. But it’s fine, it doesn’t even hurt.”  
Virgil shook his head at his brother’s words and turned around to try and get Remus on his side, but the youngest brother had already left, probably to go back to Roman. They all felt the pull home to their princes eventually.

“I should get going to Patton’s. Do you need a lift?” Virgil turned to Dee as he spoke. The middle child nodded gratefully and changed back into his snake form as Virgil’s feathers started to sprout again.

It must’ve looked weird to the people they passed, a messenger raven carrying a snake to the royal castle, but the people who lived near Patton’s home knew better than to ask questions about what his pets were up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huuuuuuuge thanks to my beta, Ellie, for all the help.

**Author's Note:**

> maybe i’ll actually write this only one way to find out
> 
> if anyone is willing to beta for me it would be greatly appreciated


End file.
